Tennis is one of the biggest and most exciting sports in the world and as a result, it has become one of the most popular sports for punters to have a little bet on. 

With thousands of games taking place across the world each year, tennis presents punters with a lot of opportunities to make money and it is also excellent business for bookmakers. 

The sheer number of tennis matches taking place can be a little overwhelming for newcomers to the sport, because of that, we here at Bonus Bets have compiled the following how-to guide to help you get up to speed with betting on tennis. 

The schedule of Tennis shares a lot of similarities with that of golf. Tennis players will compete in ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) and  WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) events throughout the year, and then also compete in the sports’ four major tournaments. 

The major tournaments in tennis are known as ‘the grand slams’ and they take place throughout the year. 

The first of the grand slams is The Australian Open, which takes place in Melbourne at the end of Australia. This is then followed by The French Open or Roland Garros as it is also known, which takes place in May. Up next is Wimbledon, which is considered by many to be the most prestigious of the four events; this takes place in London in July. Then seeing out the year in August/September is The US Open. 

Both men and women compete at these events and they all attract a huge audience and draw in punters from around the globe. 

Single result bets: The easiest type of bet for newcomers to get their head around. This is when you predict the outcome of an individual match. 

In tennis, this is made even simpler by the fact that a draw is not even an option and that one of the players must win.

Due to the fact that tennis is not a team sport and is therefore totally reliant on the performance of one individual, there is often a lot of money to be made betting on underdogs. 

The next most basic bet that can be placed in tennis is a tournament outright bet. 

In this bet, the punter chooses who he believes he is going to win a selected tournament. The bookmakers will often favour the bigger names in the sport here and it is not as advised to take a punt on an outsider on this market, though, it does happen from time to time. 

Handicap bets are one of the most popular types of bets in all sports and tennis is not any different. 

A handicap bet presented a hypothetical scenario where one of the players starts with some sort of points disadvantage, in tennis, it is often a sets handicap. 

These types of bets are beneficial for when you want to level the playing field a little bit and get better odds on a big name star, or when you think an underdog may be able to run a favourite pretty close. 

The correct score betting market in tennis is one of the best ways to make money on the sport, but it is also one of the most difficult. 

There are two main markets when it comes to correct score betting in tennis. The first is the final score of the entire match, so you may predict that player A wins the game 3 sets to 2. This market can be quite lucrative if you have a good eye for the sport. 

The other main bet placed in this market is on the correct score of an individual set. For example, you may predict that a player wins an individual set 6-4. This can be extremely difficult to get right given the number of possible scores you could get. Needless to say though, the odds on this are normally extremely good. 

Special bets

 

Tennis is a huge market for bookmakers and the majority of major bookmakers will have a wide variety of special proposition bets available, especially during the grand slams. 

The most common types of special bets placed on tennis are normally based around individual player performances, such as how far will they go in a tournament, or how many sets will they lose throughout the tournament. 

A lot of the bookmakers will offer a wide array of bonus bets or enhanced odds during the four grand-slams, especially Wimbledon, which is the most popular of the four tournaments. 

Most of the major bookmakers will offer a good range of markets when it comes to tennis.

Most major bookmakers will now stream live tennis on their app or website, which means you can keep up to date with your bets and watch the action live. 

If you are unsure about any bookmakers, feel free to check out our bookmaker reviews using the drop-down menu at the top of the page. You will also find useful guides on how to claim bonus bets and sign up offers. 

Tennis betting strategy

 

There are a number of factors you should consider when it comes to betting on Tennis. 

First and foremost, you should make sure you do your research when it comes to the individual players. Having a strong knowledge of a player’s strength and weaknesses will give you a good edge against the bookies, as will researching how players perform on certain surfaces, which is one of the major factors when it comes to betting on Tennis. 

Keeping yourself up to date with the latest ATP rankings can also be fairly useful, especially when betting on some of the sports’ lesser-known players. 

Due to the fact that it is an individual sport, tennis can also occasionally favour an underdog and as such, it is worth doing some extra research in the early rounds of tournaments where bookmakers may have missed a rising star or an undiscovered gem.